Dell PowerVault ME4/ME5

Plugin: go.d.plugin Module: powervault

Overview

This collector monitors Dell PowerVault ME4 and ME5 storage arrays via the Management Controller Interface (MCI) REST API.

It collects metrics for the following components:

• System Health — overall array health status
• Hardware Health — component-level status counts (controllers, drives, fans, PSUs, FRUs, ports) by health state (OK, degraded, fault, unknown)
• Controller Performance — IOPS, throughput, CPU load, write cache usage, forwarded commands, cumulative I/O and cache hit/miss statistics
• Volume Performance — IOPS, throughput, write cache usage, cumulative I/O, cache hit/miss statistics, storage tier distribution (SSD/SAS/SATA)
• Port I/O — cumulative read/write operations and data transferred per host port
• SAS PHY Errors — disparity errors, lost dwords, invalid dwords aggregated per port
• Pool Capacity — total and available bytes per storage pool
• Drive Metrics — temperature, power-on hours, SSD life remaining per drive
• Sensor Readings — temperature, voltage, current, and charge capacity per sensor

The collector uses the MCI REST API (/api/show/* and /api/show/*-statistics endpoints) to fetch data. Authentication uses a hash-based login (SHA-256 by default, MD5 for legacy firmware) — the collector hashes username_password, calls /api/login/<hash>, and uses the returned session key for subsequent requests.

Discovery runs on startup and then every 10 collection cycles to refresh the hardware inventory. Performance statistics (controllers, volumes, ports, PHY) are collected via concurrent API calls each cycle. Hardware health, drive metrics, sensor readings, pool capacity, and system health are computed from the cached discovery data without additional API calls.

This collector is supported on all platforms.

This collector supports collecting metrics from multiple instances of this integration, including remote instances.

A user account on the PowerVault management controller is required. Any role with API read access is sufficient (e.g., the built-in monitor role). The account does not need write permissions.

Default Behavior

Auto-Detection

The collector does not auto-detect PowerVault arrays. You must configure the management IP address, username, and password explicitly.

Limits

The collector makes approximately 14 API calls per collection cycle (10 for discovery when needed, 4 for statistics). With the default 30-second collection interval, this is well within the MCI API’s capabilities. Each API call returns all entities of that type in a single response.

Performance Impact

The MCI API is lightweight and read-only. The collector’s impact on the storage array is negligible. Session keys are reused across collection cycles and automatically refreshed on expiry (HTTP 401).

Setup

You can configure the powervault collector in two ways:

:::important

UI configuration requires paid Netdata Cloud plan.

:::

Prerequisites

PowerVault API access

1. A user account on the PowerVault management controller with at least read-only access. The built-in monitor role is sufficient.
2. Network connectivity from the Netdata Agent to the PowerVault management IP (HTTPS, port 443).
3. The management controller must have its REST API enabled (enabled by default on ME4/ME5).

TLS certificate

PowerVault controllers typically use self-signed TLS certificates. You will likely need to set tls_skip_verify: yes in the configuration, or provide the controller’s CA certificate via tls_ca.

Configuration

Options

The following options can be defined globally: update_every, autodetection_retry.

via UI

Configure the powervault collector from the Netdata web interface:

1. Go to Nodes.
2. Select the node where you want the powervault data-collection job to run and click the :gear: (Configure this node). That node will run the data collection.
3. The Collectors → Jobs view opens by default.
4. In the Search box, type powervault (or scroll the list) to locate the powervault collector.
5. Click the + next to the powervault collector to add a new job.
6. Fill in the job fields, then click Test to verify the configuration and Submit to save.
   • Test runs the job with the provided settings and shows whether data can be collected.
   • If it fails, an error message appears with details (for example, connection refused, timeout, or command execution errors), so you can adjust and retest.

via File

The configuration file name for this integration is go.d/powervault.conf.

The file format is YAML. Generally, the structure is:

update_every: 1
autodetection_retry: 0
jobs:
  - name: some_name1
  - name: some_name2

You can edit the configuration file using the edit-config script from the Netdata config directory.

cd /etc/netdata 2>/dev/null || cd /opt/netdata/etc/netdata
sudo ./edit-config go.d/powervault.conf

Examples

Basic

A minimal configuration connecting to a PowerVault controller with a self-signed certificate.

jobs:
  - name: pv-lab
    url: https://10.0.0.1
    username: monitor
    password: monitor123
    tls_skip_verify: yes

With volume filtering

Monitor only production volumes, excluding temporary and test volumes.

jobs:
  - name: pv-prod
    url: https://10.0.0.1
    username: monitor
    password: monitor123
    tls_skip_verify: yes
    volume_selector: "prod-* !*-temp !*-test"

Legacy ME4 with MD5 auth

Connecting to an older ME4 controller that requires MD5 authentication (firmware before G280).

jobs:
  - name: pv-legacy
    url: https://10.0.0.2
    username: manage
    password: manage123
    auth_digest: md5
    tls_skip_verify: yes

Multi-instance

Note: When you define multiple jobs, their names must be unique.

Monitoring multiple PowerVault arrays.

jobs:
  - name: pv-site-a
    url: https://10.0.0.1
    username: monitor
    password: monitor123
    tls_skip_verify: yes

  - name: pv-site-b
    url: https://10.0.0.2
    username: monitor
    password: monitor456
    tls_skip_verify: yes

Metrics

Metrics grouped by scope.

The scope defines the instance that the metric belongs to. An instance is uniquely identified by a set of labels.

Per Dell PowerVault ME4/ME5 instance

These metrics refer to the entire monitored PowerVault array.

This scope has no labels.

Metrics:

Per controller

These metrics refer to individual RAID controllers (typically controller_a and controller_b in a dual-controller configuration).

Labels:

Metrics:

Per volume

These metrics refer to individual storage volumes. Volumes can be filtered using the volume_selector configuration option.

Labels:

Metrics:

Per port

These metrics refer to individual host ports (SAS/FC ports used for host connectivity).

Labels:

Metrics:

Per pool

These metrics refer to individual storage pools (also known as disk groups or virtual pools).

Labels:

Metrics:

Per drive

These metrics refer to individual physical drives (HDDs and SSDs).

Labels:

Metrics:

Per sensor

These metrics refer to individual hardware sensors. Sensor types include temperature, voltage, current, and charge capacity (supercapacitor/battery backup units).

Labels:

Metrics:

Alerts

There are no alerts configured by default for this integration.

Troubleshooting

Debug Mode

Important: Debug mode is not supported for data collection jobs created via the UI using the Dyncfg feature.

To troubleshoot issues with the powervault collector, run the go.d.plugin with the debug option enabled. The output should give you clues as to why the collector isn’t working.

• Navigate to the plugins.d directory, usually at /usr/libexec/netdata/plugins.d/. If that’s not the case on your system, open netdata.conf and look for the plugins setting under [directories].

  cd /usr/libexec/netdata/plugins.d/
  

• Switch to the netdata user.

  sudo -u netdata -s
  

• Run the go.d.plugin to debug the collector:

  ./go.d.plugin -d -m powervault
  

  To debug a specific job:

  ./go.d.plugin -d -m powervault -j jobName
  

Getting Logs

If you’re encountering problems with the powervault collector, follow these steps to retrieve logs and identify potential issues:

• Run the command specific to your system (systemd, non-systemd, or Docker container).
• Examine the output for any warnings or error messages that might indicate issues. These messages should provide clues about the root cause of the problem.

System with systemd

Use the following command to view logs generated since the last Netdata service restart:

journalctl _SYSTEMD_INVOCATION_ID="$(systemctl show --value --property=InvocationID netdata)" --namespace=netdata --grep powervault

System without systemd

Locate the collector log file, typically at /var/log/netdata/collector.log, and use grep to filter for collector’s name:

grep powervault /var/log/netdata/collector.log

Note: This method shows logs from all restarts. Focus on the latest entries for troubleshooting current issues.

Docker Container

If your Netdata runs in a Docker container named “netdata” (replace if different), use this command:

docker logs netdata 2>&1 | grep powervault

Authentication failure

If the collector fails with login: authentication failed:

1. Verify the username and password are correct.
2. Check the auth_digest setting. ME4 firmware before G280 requires auth_digest: md5. ME5 and newer ME4 firmware use sha256 (the default).
3. Ensure the user account is not locked or expired on the controller.

Connection refused or timeout

If the collector fails with connection errors:

1. Verify the url points to the management controller IP (not a data port).
2. Ensure HTTPS port 443 is reachable from the Netdata Agent host.
3. If using a firewall, allow outbound HTTPS to the controller.
4. Try increasing timeout if the controller is on a high-latency link.

TLS certificate errors

PowerVault controllers ship with self-signed certificates. If you see TLS errors:

1. Set tls_skip_verify: yes in the configuration (most common solution).
2. Alternatively, export the controller’s certificate and provide it via tls_ca.